The Cottonwood 



G. H. Bretnall 



Many arc the beauties we pass by unconcerned! Many are 

 the things that slip our vision, which, if seen, would make life 

 more interesting for us ! We are likely to confine our observations 

 of trees to a few kinds which have been brought to our attention 

 by persons or books. We see only what the poet has seen or the 

 writer has described, and give no thought to those which, if under- 

 stood and studied, would add special charm to our natural world. 



One of the most interesting trees on the American continent 

 is the cottonwood although it is generally despised in regions 

 where other trees grow abundantly. We are accustomed to 

 think of it as a noisy, rustling tree and very untidy because of 

 the showers of "cotton" it sheds when it is setting free its seeds; 

 and since its wood is soft and weak, it does not appeal to us from 

 the economic side; but there is another side to its story. Its 

 distinction does not lie in being one of the many beautiful giants 

 of the forests that spread over the rich valleys and humid plains, 

 but lies in the fact that it goes off alone and that it is a pioneer 

 tree which carries the forest out on the plain, the sand heap, the 

 dump pile and turns barren wastes into places of loveliness. A 

 tree that will grow and flourish under these hard conditions is 

 perhaps, the tree that adds most to the happiness of man. 



The cottonwood is the dominant and often the only tree growing 

 on the sand bars and mud of river flats. It has the power of 

 sending out roots along its stem when that is covered ; thus when 

 the spring freshets pile new layers of sand and mud around its 

 base, it is not killed because its bark does not rot and because 

 it sends out new roots and keeps on growing even though it is 

 almost buried. This resistibility is seen in a finer way in the dunes 

 along a sandy shore of lake or sea. The sand blows in from the 

 beach and covers the young cottonwoods which have started 

 to grow in the moist soil near the shore. As the dunes rise about 

 them, the plucky saplings seem to rise with the sand, although 

 this may pile up sixty or a hundred feet in height. If the cotton- 

 wood can keep its head six inches above the sand it will keep on 

 growing, and in the end, become a tree. A few other trees can 

 endure this sand covering, but none so successfully as the cotton- 

 wood. 



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